April, 2008

Gurdon Brewster
The War, the Dance, and the Sacred

April 2-27, 2008. The opening reception is 5:00-8:00 pm, Friday, April 4.

The State of the Art Gallery presents Gurdon Brewster's bronze sculptures in a show entitled, "The War, the Dance and the Sacred." Brewster has built his show around the three themes of war, dance, and the sacred. For example, he has two sculptures of children. One is of a girl playing her flute while sitting on a broken-down tank, and another is of a boy playing with marbles that trickle out of a mortar shell. Each expresses for Brewster the sense of play and hope of children even in the midst of turmoil. Perhaps the smallest sculpture in the show is a bronze of Jesus and Buddha dancing together. Among the sculptures reflecting the sacred are three icons. He is inspired by the ancient tradition of icons and has created in bronze relief images of Elijah, of Jesus, and of Mary and the Child.

Brewster writes in his artist statement about the process of making icons. "Creating an icon in sculpture requires such a searching of my soul that I am justifiably afraid to create a new one. In creating an icon of Elijah, for example, I was drawn and challenged by his eyes. Elijah spoke to me. In life and real conversations, people just don't speak to me the way Elijah spoke to me and questioned the foundations of my very existence. This is not an easy place to visit. Then I sometimes need to leap into dance. Could I dare to be so outrageous, having been so soul searched, as to crave a moment or two of dancing with Buddha or with Jesus on some lonely desert plain far away from human eyes?" He concludes, " I lean on the gift of the Spirit, the great force behind creativity, and am inspired and uplifted."

Brewster retired in 1999 from his position of Episcopal Chaplain at Cornell where he had served for 35 years. He studied sculpture in high school and has continued with his art ever since. Focusing almost exclusively on realistically modeled figures, he works in plasticene, a clay-like substance for sculptors that remains soft to the touch. He then takes his finished sculptures to Lynn Hayes' bronze foundry in Hammondsport, New York, and she casts them using the ancient lost wax process.

Brewster will give a gallery talk entitled, "Making art in a time of madness, despair, longing and play," at the gallery on Sunday, April 6, at 3 p.m. The public is invited. Brewster will also be in the gallery on the Saturdays during April, from 1 to 5.

"The War, The Dance and The Sacred" will open Wednesday, April 2, and will close on Sunday, April 27. A reception for the artist will be held Friday, April 4, 5:00-8:00 pm.

This exhibit is funded in part by a grant from the New York
State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program.